Drug Ring
by Gregorypeck205
Summary: Tim and Ziva go to a crime scene and get more than they bargained for.


**Taking Control Adventure Series (TCAS)!**

_**TCAS 3 – Drug Ring!**_

**Tim and Ziva go to a crime scene and get more than they bargained for.**

**Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me. **

**Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or their characters. To clarify, I OWN NOTHING.**

**1\. Taking Control**

**2\. Loans and Moans**

**3\. Drug Ring**

_Bullpen_

It was noon when Gibbs came into the bullpen. He saw McGee and Ziva briefing Tony on the latest cold case they were working on. It looked like they were just finishing up as they were standing and taking their chairs back to their own desks. Gibbs thought they would start typing up reports but both McGee and Ziva retrieved their guns and badges gave Gibbs a quick hello as they passed him and headed out of the bullpen. As Gibbs watched them go, he wondered where they were off to now. His SFA interrupted his thoughts as he spoke up.

"Got a minute boss?"

Gibbs looked over at Tony as he sat down at his desk and nodded. Tony brought his chair over to Gibbs desk and proceeded to update him on what was going on with his team. Tony gave him a complete and thorough brief that answered all of Gibbs questions before he had a chance to ask them. He now knew that his agents were actually working three cold cases at the same time. Thanks to his SFA, he was brought up to speed on all three and now knew where his two agents were headed.

Gibbs was proud of his team and the way they were working. He wished he could take credit for it but Gibbs was a realist. He knew this new team chemistry started when something changed with McGee. He seemed to have a purpose to his work now and nothing was going to get in his way. Not even his dinosaur aged boss. His new work attitude and performance seemed to galvanize his other agents too. You could see on Ziva's face that she was enjoying her job and enjoying being partnered up with McGee. Tony was now taking on more and more responsibilities. He was still slow in getting all of his paperwork completed and turned in on time but he was encompassing all of the SFA duties into his daily routine now. The biggest change was McGee. He still had no idea what had got him going. McGee always did excellent work but through no fault of his own, he had basically been chained to his desk and tasked with computer work only. Gibbs made no bones about who's stupid, pig headed fault that was. McGee was showing him in no uncertain terms that he was an excellent field agent and would not be left behind in the office.

The following week, Tim and Ziva were working on cold cases as they were the only two from Team Gibbs who were presently in the bullpen. Both Gibbs and Dinozzo were downtown in court testifying on a case they were involved in.

"What do you want to do for lunch Ziva?" Tim asked his partner.

Before Ziva could answer, Tim's phone rang.

"McGee" he answered.

"Agent McGee this is Director Vance; where the hell is everyone? I called Gibbs and Dinozzo and got no answer." Vance barked.

"May I come to your office and explain sir?" Tim requested.

"Yes, agent McGee, I think that is an excellent idea." Vance agreed before hanging up.

"I'm going up to brief the director why Team Gibbs is just you and me." Tim told Ziva as he got up and headed to the stairs.

Thirty minutes later, Tim came down the stairs.

"Hey Ziva, we have to go. We have a dead naval officer at his home. I convinced the director that we could handle it." Tim advised her.

They both got their guns, badges and gear and were off to get the NCIS van. When they arrived at the scene Tim took charge. He walked over to the officers who were first on scene.

"Who is the lead officer here?" Tim asked.

"That would be me, officer John Battle and this is my partner officer Brandon Pierce."

"Glad to meet you both but I wish it could have been under different circumstances. I'm NCIS special agent Tim McGee and this is my partner NCIS special agent Ziva David. Agent McGee and Agent David or just plain McGee and David will suffice for names. OK officer Battle, go ahead and run it down for us." Tim requested.

Once officer Battle finished giving McGee and Ziva his brief, Tim started asking more questions.

"Has the house been cleared?"

"No, not yet" officer Battle replied. "Once we found the body, we didn't want to disturb the crime scene. We have been keeping an eye on the house. There has been no movement and no one has come out. We also set up a perimeter to keep everyone away until you arrived."

Tim thought for a second and came to a quick decision and started giving orders.

"We need to clear the house before anything else can be done. We're going to need your help with that but only as backup. First thing we're going to do is exchange cell numbers so we can communicate with each other."

The agents and officers quickly exchange cell numbers and set them up to be quick dial numbers.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. Officer Battle, you stand in front on this corner of house and watch the front door, front windows and your right-side windows. Officer Pierce, you stand on the corner at the back of the house diagonal to your partner and watch the back door, back windows and your right-side windows. Agent David and I will go clear the house." Tim instructed.

"Sounds good agent McGee" Officer Battle replied. Brandon, go ahead to the back of the house and get in position."

"Yep, I'm on it John" Officer Pierce replied as he headed to the back of the house.

When both officers were in place, Tim and Ziva drew their weapons and entered the house through the front door using proper NCIS techniques to cover each other's six as they cleared the house. They were half way through the house when they both heard a noise. Both agents froze. Tim took out his cell phone and texted the officers to draw their weapons and be alert as they had just heard a noise.

When the officers got the text, they both drew their weapons and kept their eyes moving in the areas they were responsible for. Tim signaled Ziva to proceed up the stairs. When they got to the top of the stairs, they both stopped and listened. They heard someone try to take a silent breath in the bedroom closest to them. The door was open.

They walked to the room with Ziva getting ready to enter when a light tap on her shoulder from McGee stopped her. She turned to look at him and he pointed to the floor under the open door. Ziva turned and looked and saw the shadow Tim was pointing too. She looked at him and nodded. Tim signaled for her to run and dive into the room. Her responsibility would be anyone else who might be in there. Tim responsibility would be to take out the perp behind the door.

Tim didn't know how many there were but he wanted them alive. They killed a naval officer and he was not going to let them off with a quick death. Tim holstered his gun and took out his knife. Smiling, Ziva imitated Tim. Ziva backed up a couple of steps. Tim held up his hand and started subtracting fingers in a silent count down.

When he just had his fist up, Ziva took off running and dove into the room doing a tuck and roll at the end of the dive and coming up going straight for the closet. As soon as Ziva had dove into the room, Tim had kicked the door into the perp hiding behind it as he followed Ziva into the room and then before the perp could recover Tim had grabbed his wrist and twisted it making the perp drop the baseball bat he was holding before Tim hit him with a powerful left cross that knocked the thug out immediately.

Tim turned to see Ziva flip one guy over her shoulder as two others were rushing at her. Tim ran toward her kicking the guy she had flipped in the face as he went by knocking him out. Ziva ducked under the first guy's knife swing and kicked him in the back which sent him off balance directly into Tim who grabbed the guy's wrist and twisted it making him drop the knife. Tim then twisted his arm behind his back and grabbed back of his collar and propelled him head first into the nearest wall effectively knocking him out. Tim heard some windows crashing but was not available to chase anyone because having his partners six always came first. He needn't have worried as he watched Ziva finish the guy off with a spinning back kick.

Tim and Ziva used zip ties to tie up the four unconscious perps with their hands behind their backs. They then put their knives away and drew their weapons to go finish clearing the house. When the rest of the house was cleared, they checked on the dirt bags and found all four still unconscious. Tim's phone rang and he saw it was Officer Battle calling.

"Officer Battle, what's your status" Tim asked.

"We have two out here. One jumped out of the top window and busted his ankle. The other one ran out the back-door right into Brandon, I mean Officer Pierce. We have a bus on the way and back up has arrived." He reported.

"Good work Officer Battle. Send the back up to the top floor. We have four up here we need help bringing down." Tim ordered.

"FOUR" he heard officer Battle shout before he remembered he was supposed to be a veteran police officer. "I mean I'll get right on it agent McGee." Officer Battle stated before disconnecting the call.

Tim took a quick look around the room before his eyes fell on Ziva who had been watching him with a smile on her face. Tim gave her a smirk and a wink before going over to the dirt bag who was apparently gaining consciousness going by the groaning he was doing. Tim was helping him up off the floor as the backup arrived. They poured water on the other perps to wake them up and marched them all out of the house and sat them on the lawn next to the other two perps.

Both officer Battle and officer Pierce eyes were almost popping out of the heads when they saw the 4 perps being led out of the house. All four looked like they had gone a couple of rounds with a heavyweight boxer while agent McGee and agent David didn't have a scratch on them. 'What the hell kind of training were they taught to be able to do that' officer Battle thought.

McGee and Ziva walked over to the perps and looked them over. McGee looked at two of them with disgust on his face. It was the two that had tried to run.

"You two disgust me. If it were up to me, I would just lock you up and throw away the key but this is America and everyone has a right to their day in court. Even disgraceful trash like you." McGee spat out.

No one had a clue why McGee was so upset at these two men. He was talking to them almost as if he knew them. All of the police officers and even Ziva had no clue why Tim looked as if he wanted to shoot them right then and there.

"Tim" Ziva said softly. "Why are you so upset at these two? They are not part of the four who attacked us."

"Don't you see Ziva? Can you not see it? Look at their haircuts. Look at their clean-shaven faces. These two are in the military; probably the Navy. We trust our military more than anyone else to protect our country and what do these two do? They betray that trust and betray their country and take part in killing a naval officer." Tim said with disgust.

Now they all understood. The police officers understood how they would feel if police officers were involved in killing a fellow police officer. But they also understood something greater; Tim was a true Patriot. He had no sympathy for anyone who would betray our great nation and neither did they. They also looked on the two men with disgust.

Ziva also understood. Tim did not take these things lightly. Because of who he was, he took it personally when they ran across dirt bags who betrayed their country and their fellow man. She wished she could hold him but now was not the time.

"Ok, listen up you two. I'm NCIS Special Agent McGee and she is NCIS Special Agent David. I'm the lead agent here so right now at this time and place I have the power and the authority to stipulate what happens with your lives." McGee began. "If you cooperate and tell me the truth now, I will write this up as whatever crime you were committing."

"Now, if you refuse to cooperate and act like you're some kind of tough guys, I will just write it up as an act of terrorism and let you take your chances that way. I have one request, please make my day and take the second option."

"Oh, I see by the looks on your faces that you know what will happen to you if you are charged as terrorist. Ok, start talking and don't leave anything out including who else is involved." Tim spat out.

And talk they did. When they were done, Tim was about to go ballistic.

"DRUGS" Tim shouted. "All this was about Drugs" he said in disgust.

Tim took a step toward them and Ziva put her hand on his shoulder. She was not restraining him. She just wanted him to feel her touch. She saw the struggle Tim was having trying to get himself under control. He was shaking with the effort. Tim finally won the battle and turned to look at Ziva. She smiled at him and got a smile in return.

"I'm going to update the director" he told Ziva.

She nodded to him before he walked off for privacy. She knew he had to get away from these traitors for a moment. When he came back, he briefed Ziva.

"The director is sending a team to process the crime scene and pick up those six. When they get here, we're to go get the ring leader."

Tim walked over to Officer Battle and Officer Pierce and held his hand out for a shake.

"Officer John Battle, Officer Brandon Pierce, it has been an honor to work with two of the best police officers I've had the pleasure of meeting. Thank you for backing us up and having our six. It will never be forgotten. If you ever need anything, anything at all you call me. I don't care how big or small, I'm your man." Tim told the two police officers.

"All in a day's work" officer Battle replied smiling while shaking Tim's hand. "But seriously Tim that works both ways. You ever need help with anything, you get in touch with either one of us and we'll always have your six."

"Yeah McGee" officer Pierce said while shaking his hand. "What he said" he said smiling.

Looking up McGee saw the other NCIS team had arrived along with Ducky and Jimmy.

"Gentleman, I have to go brief the other NCIS team. Remember what I said, anytime." Tim said as he walked over to the team lead to brief him.

Ziva gave both officers a kiss on their cheeks and stated that what Tim said goes for her too. Officer Pierce, who was single, asked Ziva if she was seeing anyone.

"Yes, I am" she responded. "He is a wonderful man and he has my heart."

"I'll take your word for it but I don't know him and I still don't think he is good enough for you." Officer Pierce stated.

Ziva just smiled and asked "can you two keep a secret?"

They looked at each other and then turned back to Ziva before officer Pierce responded "For you agent David, absolutely."

"The man who has captured my heart is the same man you told you would have his six anytime and anywhere." Ziva said smiling.

They both had shocked expressions on their faces as they looked over at Tim briefing the team lead. They looked at Ziva and then looked at Tim again. They both got big smiles on their faces.

"Agent David, I would like to change my assessment of your guy. He really is good enough for you." Officer Pierce said with a smile.

Ziva had been watching Tim and her smile got bigger when she heard Officer Pierce's reassessment.

"Yes, he is" she said quietly.

The two officers saw the way she looked at McGee and knew McGee would never have to worry about this beautiful woman wanting anyone else. They looked over at McGee and saw him sign something to Ziva. They looked at Ziva and their eyes got wide again as they saw Ziva blushing a deep red. She had been nothing but a cool calm agent the entire time and now she was flustered and blushing like a school girl. Both officers wished they knew sign language so they would know what the hell Tim had signed to her to make her become like this.

Officer Battle couldn't control his curiosity.

"If you don't mind me asking Ziva, what did Tim sign to you?"

The two officers watched as Ziva seemed to blush even more but she didn't say anything. They thought it must have been something very personal and she was not going to tell them.

Tim called over to Ziva for them to get going. Ziva said bye to the officers again as she jogged over to McGee. They watched the two as Ziva slapped Tim lightly on his arm and pushed him. They heard McGee laughing uncontrollably as he stumbled from her push. They saw Tim say something to Ziva and they now heard her laughter floating back to them. The officers just shook their heads. They both thought those two were made for each other.

Tim and Ziva arrived at Joint Base Andrews AFB and proceeded over to the Navy side of the base. They went to the naval supply warehouse where they were met by Marine MP's.

Director Vance had already spoken to the base commander, Colonel Mathers. The Colonel was pissed and assured Director Vance that his agents would have his and his MP's complete cooperation.

Tim greeted them, introduced himself and Ziva and briefed them on how they would handle the take down. Tim had the MP's cover every entry and exit point. He also asked if they had any certified snipers with them. There were 2. Tim pointed out two buildings that gave unobstructed line of sight to the warehouse. Between the two of them they would be able to completely cover the warehouse. He instructed them to go set up on the rooftops. Once the snipers were in place, they entered the building.

They were stopped several times for ID check. Tim thought it was very strange to be stopped this often for ID in a supply warehouse. Since they had no way of knowing how many people were involved, Tim had the MP's detain everyone they met. This also ensured no warning would be given to the head of the drug ring. Tim asked the last Petty officer they detained where they could find Commander Jonathan Dilks. The Petty officer pointed to a heavyset man in navy whites who was shouting out orders. Tim thought he must have just barely made weight standard to still be in the Navy. They walked over to him and before they could say a word, he started yelling at them.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here; this is a secure area and only authorized personnel are allowed in here. I hope you like jail because that's exactly where you're going to be in about 30 minutes. Petty officer Green, call the MP's. Petty officer Jones, Chief Thornton, seize these two and hold them until the MP's get here."

"NCIS, everybody freeze" Ziva shouted as she pulled her weapon and aimed it at the approaching men while holding up her badge in the other hand. The MP's spread out to ensure everyone was covered. Tim had kept walking until he was face to face with Commander Dilks. The Commander had started to get nervous when he heard Ziva's shout, but he really started to worry when he saw the rage in Tim's eyes. Tim hit him with a straight left that almost took his head off. The commander hit floor moaning and groaning. He hoped his jaw hadn't been broken then he heard a voice that he would remember the rest of his life.

"Get up you snail scum." McGee spat out.

The commander didn't know what he had done to make this man so angry, but he did not want to get hit again and the man looked like he was looking for any excuse to beat the hell out of him. He picked himself up off the floor while holding his jaw and staring warily at the man. He took a couple of steps away from McGee in case he decided to punch him again.

"You don't have to worry about calling the MP's, they're already here and in case you hadn't noticed they all have their m-16's trained on you. I am NCIS Special Agent McGee and she is NCIS Special Agent David. Commander Jonathan Dilks, you under arrest for smuggling drugs, selling drugs, murder and treason.

Commander Dilks looked around and found that just about all weapons were pointed at him. The ones that were not pointed at him were pointed at everyone else in the warehouse who was not a MP or a NCIS agent. The commander's eyes grew wide as what the agent said to him finally sunk in.

"Wait, murder, treason; I haven't killed anyone and I am certainly not a traitor to my country." The commander snarled.

Tim started walking toward the commander with fire in his eyes. He grabbed him by the front of his uniform and brought him up face to face with him.

"I just left the scene of a murder where there is a dead Naval commander. A Naval officer who was serving his country faithfully. A Naval officer who was not a traitor to his uniform and to his country but a patriot who brought pride to this country. A Naval officer who would not hesitate to give his life for the country he loved. But he didn't get to do that. He didn't get to die with dignity in the defense of his country. This was not even friendly fire. No, this patriot was killed because some assholes were smuggling and selling drugs. Drugs that destroy our country. Drugs that tear families apart. DRUGS THAT END UP IN THE ARMS OF OUR CHILDREN." Tim shouted into his face.

Tim battled with himself. He wanted this bastard dead. It would be so easy to just put his hands around this guy's neck and strangle the life out of him. He didn't deserve to live.

"Tim" was all Ziva said but it was enough. Tim released the commander and walked over to a corner to get himself under control. He then came back and spoke to the commander again.

"Strip" was all Tim said.

"Wwhat" the commander stammered looking over at Ziva and the female MP's.

"I said strip" Tim said again.

"What for" the commander asked?

"Take a look around you Dilks." Tim refused to use any rank with him. "Take a good look at these MP's. This is what American Patriotism looks like. This is what military heroes look like. These men and women put these uniforms on and serve their country with pride. These are the people who have earned the right to wear those uniforms. You have not. If you think I'm going to stand here one moment longer and let you disgrace that uniform and all of the men and women who have worn it with honor you must have been using the drugs you were selling. Now Dilks, you have two choices; you can take off that uniform or I can come take it off for you but without a shadow of a doubt I can guarantee you are not going to like the way I take it off you." McGee said as he took his knife out. "I can also guarantee that it will be a bloody mess by the time I get it off of you."

The MP's had to call on all of their military training to maintain their military bearing. A few weren't able to as you could hear the snickers around the warehouse. Even Ziva couldn't keep the smirk off of her face. The MP's had never met agent McGee until a few moments ago but they all had the same thought in their heads. This was someone they would follow into any fight, any place, any time without a second thought. It was not hard to see he was the real deal and they all believed that this guy was what a true Patriot looked like.

Dilks didn't want to strip in front of the women as he was grossly overweight and out of shape but what he knew for certain was that he really didn't want that NCIS agent to get anywhere near him with that knife. He almost pissed on himself when he took it out. He began taking off his uniform and when he was done, Tim walked over to him and snatched it out of his hands.

"Sergeant Briggs" Tim called.

Master Sergeant Briggs of the Marine Corps who was in command of the MP detachment walked over to Tim.

"What can I do for you agent McGee?" he asked.

"Can you please take this piece of shit along with everyone else who was in the warehouse into custody and lock them up until we get a team of NCIS agents down here to help sort out who was a part of this drug ring and who wasn't." Tim requested.

"You got it. Also, just so you know; if you had gone with your first instinct and strangled the bastard, there is not one MP here who would have seen a thing."

Sergeant Briggs gave Tim a good-natured pat on the back as he grabbed Dilks and turned to carry out McGee's request. Tim looked around at the MP's and saw each one was giving him a nod or two fingered salute showing they had his six.

Tim walked over to a corner and pulled out his phone to call the Director. The phone was answered by the director's assistant.

"Just a moment agent McGee; the director was expecting your call." She answered.

After a brief moment the director came on the line.

"Agent McGee" the director bellowed.

"Hello director, we are not finished here yet but I wanted to give you an update."

That's as far as McGee got before the director broke in.

"Don't worry about that agent McGee; there was a live feed inside and outside of the warehouse, so I know what's been going on. I already have NCIS agents on site to take over. I need you and agent David back here ASAP."

McGee stared at the phone and then slowly brought it back up to his ear.

"Yes sir; we're on our way." McGee stated before hanging up.

Tim and Ziva were the only two in the warehouse. Ziva walked over to Tim and asked him what the director's instructions were. Tim turned and looked at her before answering.

"He wants us back at HQ ASAP." Tim answered.

"He does not wish us to stay and complete the sweep up?" Ziva asked.

Tim smiled "It's mop up Ziva, not sweep up and no, he doesn't want us to complete the mop up as he already has some NCIS agents on site to take over. We had better get going." Tim finished.

Tim and Ziva started walking quickly through the warehouse and had just exited the building when they both came to an abrupt halt at the scene in front of them. Sergeant Briggs had his MP detail lined up in formation and brought them to attention when he saw the agents exit the warehouse. Sergeant Briggs than executed an about face so that he was also facing the agents. He gave the agents a salute before executing another about face and putting the detail at parade rest. He then walked over to the two agents to shake their hands. Smiling, Tim whispered something to the Master Sergeant which made him get a big smile on his face. He walked back over to his detachment and gave a couple of other commands.

While Sergeant Briggs was giving commands, Tim whispered to Ziva what he wanted to do, and she smiled as she thought it was a great idea. When Sergeant Briggs was done, Tim and Ziva walked over to the first MP in line and shook her hand and thanked her for backing them up. They both went down the line of MP's shaking their hands and thanking them all for having their six. The MP's were grinning ear to ear as they accepted their handshakes and thanks from the agents. All the MP's thought they should be thanking them for putting trash like Dilks where he belongs.

When Ziva and McGee were driving back to DC, Ziva had been trying to figure out what Tim could have said to Sergeant Briggs. It was gnawing at her and she couldn't let it go. She knew Tim had asked him if they could thank the detail but she didn't understand why the Sergeant Briggs had to issue all of the commands to them.

"Tim"

"Yes Ziva"

"Why did Sergeant Briggs give all of those commands before we shook hands with the MP's?"

Tim smiled at the question.

"Well you see Ziva; Sergeant Briggs had the detail at parade rest when he came over to us. In the military, parade rest is a form of relaxing while in formation but because they are still in formation they cannot move and we cannot approach them. Sergeant Briggs went to put them at ease which is another type of relaxed posture in formation except they are allowed to converse with each other and after getting permission from Master Sergeant Briggs, we are allowed to approach the formation and converse with them. Before Sergeant Briggs can put them into any type of posture, he must always bring them to attention first." McGee finished.

"Oh, I think I understand now." Ziva replied as she looked Tim over appreciatively.

"What" Tim asked as he noticed Ziva staring at him like she was a cat and he was a bowl of milk.

"Nothing; I was just imagining you in a navy uniform. Yum" Ziva said with a sultry look on her face.

Tim gulped and stared straight ahead as they were now in downtown DC and he did not want to end this day with an accident. His pants had already gotten tight from the look Ziva had given him and his concentration needed to be on traffic, not the gorgeous woman sitting next to him exuding sex.

When the agents got back to NCIS HQs, they received a shock as everyone in the bullpen stood and gave them a standing ovation. Tim looked over to their area and his eyes got wide as he saw Gibbs and Tony standing there clapping along with everyone else. He looked up and saw even the director was clapping. He also noticed there was a Colonel beside the director clapping. Ziva had a smile on her face but Tim looked embarrassed. Tim could never understand getting accolades just for doing your job.

The director pointed to Tim and Ziva and motioned to come up to his office. As Tim and Ziva made their way through the NCIS agents, they received good natured slaps on the back and salutations for a job well done. They were just about to the stairs when they ended up in front of Gibbs and Tony.

"Hey Boss, Tony" Tim greeted.

Tony brushed Gibbs aside and wrapped Tim in a bear hug and lifted him off his feet. Tim could hear Ziva laughing behind him. Tony sat Tim back on the floor and just stared at Tim with a big grin on his face.

"That was first rate work Probie. You and Ziva did a great job. We got back in time to watch the take down in the warehouse." Tony leaned forward and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear "If you had strangled that asshole I would have sworn up and down that you were with me all day and you were nowhere near that warehouse."

The bullpen broke up laughing but everyone let McGee know that they agreed with Dinozzo and they would also have sworn he was nowhere near the warehouse. Tim went to start up the stairs but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned back and looked into the face of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Boss?"

"That's a hell of a job McGee. From start to finish, that's a hell of a job." Gibbs finished before giving McGee a pat on the back.

Gibbs then pulled Ziva forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Great job Ziva."

The two agents smiled at each other before continuing up the stairs. Vance had come back out to see what was keeping his agents and just smiled at the scene. He went back in the office to let the Colonel they were headed up.

When Tim and Ziva finally arrived at the director's office, his assistant told them to go right on in. Tim knocked once and opened the door for Ziva to precede him in before following and closing the door. The director was standing beside the Colonel when they went in.

"First of all," The director began. "That was outstanding work from you two. You did NCIS proud. Next, I would like to introduce you to Colonel Thomas P. Mathers, Base Commander, Joint Base Andrews AFB; Colonel, these are NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee and NCIS Special Agent Ziva David."

Tim immediately started smiling and walked over to the Colonel to shake his hands.

"I'm very happy to meet you sir. I wanted to tell you face to face that your Military Police have got to be one of the greatest group of marines I have had the pleasure and honor to work with."

Ziva stepped up to the Colonel and also shook his hand.

"I concur with agent McGee Colonel. They are the best." Ziva stated.

Colonel Mathers smiled and looked at Vance.

"I come here to personally thank two of your finest for their work and they end up flattering me." Colonel Mathers turned back to the two agents with a serious face.

"I don't think I could ever effectively express my gratitude to the two of you for what you have done today. You uncovered a drug ring run by traitors who were operating on my base. I can only say I'm glad it was you and not me who was standing in front of that traitor. I don't think I would have had your self-control and discipline. I'm quite sure I would have strangled the bastard as I saw you were itching to do."

McGee turned to the director. "Permission to speak freely sir" McGee asked?

"Permission granted" Vance answered.

McGee turned back to the Colonel.

"It was touch and go for minute sir. The sacrifices you guys make every day by wearing that uniform to ensure our safety, security and freedom is cause enough that we should be thanking you every day. Instead of appreciating the honor that was granted to him, this jackass has the nerve to go and make a mockery of the blood, sweat and tears that those before him have freely given so our children can grow up happy and free. He disgraces those men and women who came before him by bringing and selling the very same drugs that always seems to find its way to our children. If I had him in front of me again, I don't think I would be able to control myself a second time."

The colonel looked at Tim and Ziva with a big smile on his face.

"What you said at the warehouse and what you just said is the reason I'm extremely proud and honored to have you two and the rest of NCIS watching out for us. I also want you to know that Master Sergeant Briggs couldn't say enough good things about you two. The Marine detail that backed you up want to make you guys honorary Marines. Marines are a tight knit bunch but you two were able to win them over in one day. It takes very special individuals to do that. I have to get back to the base but I wanted to thank you two personally for your outstanding work today."

The colonel turned to the director and shook his hand.

"Good day director. I'll be in touch with you later."

As the Colonel was leaving the office, Vance called downstairs.

"Yeah Gibbs" Gibbs said answering his phone.

"Gibbs, you and Dinozzo come up to my office, click."

Gibbs gave a smirk as he replaced the phone.

"Come on Dinozzo, we have been summoned" Gibbs stated sarcastically.

"On your six boss" Tony said smiling while jumping up out of his chair.


End file.
